South Korea Ferry survivors return to school

As parents of the dead wept, more than 70 teenagers who survived a ferry sinking in South Korea that killed hundreds of their schoolmates walked in a sombre procession to their first classes since the April disaster.

The Sewol sank in waters off the southern coast of South Korea in April (AP)Family members of passengers aboard the sunken ferry Sewol sit outside Gwangju District Court in Gwangju, South Korea (AP)Family members of passengers who died on the sunken ferry Sewol outside a pre-trial hearing for crew members (AP)Lee Joon-seok, captain of sunken ferry Sewol, arrives at a court in GwangjuAngry relatives outside the hearing as crew members from the Sewol ferry attend Gwangju District Court in South Korea (AP)

As parents of the dead wept, more than 70 teenagers who survived a ferry sinking in South Korea that killed hundreds of their schoolmates walked in a sombre procession to their first classes since the April disaster.

Share

South Korea Ferry survivors return to school

Independent.ie

As parents of the dead wept, more than 70 teenagers who survived a ferry sinking in South Korea that killed hundreds of their schoolmates walked in a sombre procession to their first classes since the April disaster.

Some of the 73 students, wearing white and black uniforms and carrying book bags, bowed their heads as they cried and walked slowly from a bus to the entrance of Danwon High School in Ansan, outside of Seoul.

Some stopped to hug the parents of their friends, while a large banner reading "We pray the dead will rest in peace" was hung up on the school entrance gate.

The anger, grief and deep remorse at the school was a reflection of what many South Koreans have felt since the April 16 sinking that left more than 300 people dead or missing. Of the 325 students on a class trip to the southern holiday island of Jeju, 75 were rescued, 245 died and five are still missing. Two of those rescued had already returned to school, officials said.

The return to classes of the survivors, who had been staying at a facility in Ansan where they had classes and therapy sessions, comes amid court hearings for the ferry crew and the officials from the company that owned it. Many South Koreans also fault the government, the coast guard and even society for failing the victims.

"We ask for a thorough investigation to find out why our friends and teachers had to become victims and why the rescue efforts didn't proceed properly and lead to more victims," one of the surviving students, Shin Young-jin, said in an emotional address.

"We hope that you will try to create a safer nation so that such a horrible accident never happens again."

After decades of negligence, many South Koreans are now questioning the country's history of ignoring safety issues as it pursued rapid economic development above all else following the devastation of the Korean War, which began 64 years ago with a North Korean invasion.

The government of president Park Geun-hye, whose dictator father ruled during the economic boom in the 1960s and 1970s, has been battered by criticism that it should have done more before the sinking on safety and monitoring issues and that its incompetence botched the rescue operations.

The 15 crew members responsible for navigating the Sewol ferry face charges of negligence for failing to perform their duties to rescue passengers. Prosecutors say they abandoned the ship even though they knew passengers would be trapped and killed when the ferry sank.

The defence has denied any collusion, saying the crew members were confused, injured and panicked.

Student Shin added that many people have tried to console the surviving students, but others have asked "unpleasant" questions that have reminded them of the sinking and made them feel guilty.

He said some people were even "burying daggers in our hearts" by saying the survivors "betrayed" their classmates by coming back alive. "Whenever we heard such things, our hearts tore apart and ached and we shed tears because we felt guilty and sorry for our friends," he said.

"Just as we cannot forget them, we ask that the citizens of this country also never forget them.

"For the adults who lead us, we ask that you exhaustively search for those responsible for this crime."